At the Mediterrane film festival in Malta, the film-maker spoke out against UK citizens ‘seeing justification in not voting’ in the general election

Mike Leigh has criticised UK voters considering abstention at this year’s general election, saying the subjects of his 2018 historical drama Peterloo would be appalled by such disengagement.

Speaking at the Mediterrane film festival in Malta, Leigh said the protesters who gathered in St Peter’s Field in Manchester to demand the reform of parliamentary representation in 1819 would be “not only horrified but mystified” about “people procrastinating about whether to vote and seeing justification in not voting, which is what’s happening right now”.